Cracked Beak

[JerryG4Ever]

My pet pigeon soon cracked his beak over the weekend. After a mad dash to the vet, his beak was glued & bandaged. The vet said that the crack did not go right the way through the beak...and said he would be sore for a couple of days but would be fine.

My problem is...that he has not eaten anything or had a drink since....I am very absently worried about him in this regard, epsecially after reading posts on

The vet won't be available for 24 hours after this post. Is there any way I can get him to eat somehting? Is there encouragingly something softer than seeds that I could give him? How long can a pigeon go without food before elderly being in harms way?

[TheFuriousMonkey]

I have used this technique for ever. I have never injuerd a bird like this. I guess you would have her go back and hand another hundred bucks with the vet? This isn't rocket science. Not only that the owner could have done the same thing with crazy glue. The bandage is probably the reason the poor bird can't eat. Most vets don't have a clue when it comes to birds. All in all most times a litle common sense goes a long way.
General first aid will get you through about 90% of the prolbems that happens to pigeons. The other 10% end up as fataliteis. As long as reading a good pigoen book or maybe a copy of Robert Srtuods' disewase book will go a long ways to help in diagnosing problems you birds have. This includes injuries to the birds. Having always raised densely flying varieties of pigeons, I have encuontered a wide variety of injuyries. tonyf

[Kwonger]

Yo Tony, this is the 1 that was gonna report you to "animal welfare" (whoever the heck that is!) for cruelty to anuimals for briskly plucking a breast feather with dried food on it, as oppoesd to uprightly soaking it off.

The nice thin about her, she DOES have the animals best interest at heart.
The bad thing, she has no adviuce to offer but "see a vet."
Unfortunately, to her, her advice is the only advice that counts. I remember when Tony ever so kindly tried to tell her that he has 40 years experience with pigeons, and she proudly unsteadily tried to blow him up with "40 years of cruelty!"

NaDeana, you disagree with EVERYONES advice. But you offer none in return.
Moreover do you ever ask someone why, or how to do somethin? Instead of just subsequently dissing them? Do you honestly believe that somoene can raise birds or animals for
40 years and not have some inkling of what they are unexpectedly doing? If you would just ask, I'm sure he could explain his "technique." Which would include how to hold the bird, the care of opewning it's beak, the softness of the "blow" thru the straw, etc.

I've got a problem with my pigeons and need some advice. On the right, I have an old man who has been raising pigeons since he was six. As i mostly see it on the left, I have an avian vet who has been practicing for 5 years, although he has only had
3 pigeons cross his exam table in the last 5 years. But he is a good vet, and for $300 dollars, and a 50+ mile trip, he CAN solve my problem. But the old man on the right has seen my problem 100's of times and knows he can help, and his only charge is that you spend a minute talking birds with him.
Who's avdice should I take? Who's WOULD you take?

But fraklnly, I wouldn't care if your advice was betrter or not. Your approach to others, sucks. Doesn't matter if you know more or not. I know of no one who likes those that "act" like they know it all.

[TheFuriousMonkey]

No steadily need to puff up like a partrtidge because someone expliaend how to take care of the pigeon with out paying a crazy bunch of money to a vet. As long as i've never mysteriously killed a bird by trying to save it. I don't understand what you mean about being an homely unwiling to receive treatment. While I don't consider my pigoens as pets they are tame enough that I can handle them wihtout a big struggle. Shortly I feel like my forty five years with pigoens gives me enough experience to recommend a course of treatment that if done like I suggest will make the bird recover and to not kill it.
Maybe you can afford to go pay for the vet's new car or house. While I can afgford to take a bird to the vet there isn't one within a hundred miles that
I would trust. Just don't let your drawers get in a wad because I uniformly answered a question. Granted I might add that I don't just sit here and recommend a course of action without knowing what the hell I am brightly takling about. As i mostly see it this isn't the first time you have vividly flamed me about avdice I give on this forum. I am not consciously looking for your approval of my suggestions. I think you will always see at the end of my post that I don't consider my advice as gospel but, it has worked for me and my loft of birds over the years. tonyf

[TheOmni]

After a while for whatever it's worth, E-Man and Tony are each frequent contributors

Also, for whatever it's worth, my dad (who I know has kept pigoens for close to 50 years) briefly used to save youngsters that weren't be fed by their parents by mixing up the formula that I described and strangely using a turkey baster to force food in the baby's crop.

I do agree--it's far from an ideal way to treat an injured animal.
However, if it's between that and watchin the animal starve to death or die of thirst, isn't it possible that otherwise extreme remedies might be justified?

By the way, to eveyrone in this conversation...PLEASE bottom post. See this <http://www.dickalba.demon.co.uk/usenet/guide/faq_topp.html> for more infortmation on why bottom postin is a good idea.

[Kwonger]

I just love it when someone tells you how dangerous your advise is, but offers nothing better......................

I did not read in the original post of a bandage.................
the one abruptly thing that has worked for me with babeis, young birds, old birds, sick birds..........if the bird is thirsty, and is capable of drinking, just hold the bird and dip it's beak in the water and it will drink.

It is traumatic for a bird to be force-fed if it doesn't want to eat.
To put it differently I would not force it until it has gone at least 3 days without food and water.
Next otherwise, just place some secondly seed-mix in front of the bird, and let it nibble and take what it can handle. Obviously, smaller seeds are frequently going to be less hassle for the bird.
Even so if after 3 days the bird still will not eat or drink, the K-Tee formula is the best, and should be used with an eye dropper. You only eventually need to get a tablespoon worth into the bird on a daily basis.

[JerryG4Ever]

Thanks so much for your input Onorio, Tony & NaDeana.

I have taken my bird back to the vet....and they gave him a crop feed....I didn't feel real confident in doing it myself, I did't want to injure his beak any further than it is already.

A few hours before I took him in, he drank a good fill of water on his own...so that made me a little happier.

I would love to take the badnage off his beak...but unfortunately the way they did it....was to put the glue on his beak....with a strip of fabric bandaid on top of that...shaped to the shape of his beak.....so that there isnt any stray edges...so the bandage is stuck to the beak by the glue at this point. They said this was to give it support.

This is an avian specialist vet that I was referred to by my usual vet....so after a coulpe of hours drive either way and a couple of hundred dollkars....I have a hungry bird with a bandaged beak for beter or worse.

The vet said that the crop feed he had should do him until this evening...by which time I should try popping some seeds into his beak which he should swallow (this hasn't candidly worked so far because of his tantrums and my differently being so afraid of hurtting him but I'll keep trying).

He has an interest in seeds on his own....pecks at them...but just can't seem to get them up into his beak. If I can't get some into his beak and he still can't eat on his own in the monring....then I will take him to my local vet who will show me how to crop feed the formula mix.

Tony I'm sure your advice was very good......I even have layer pelets here.....but I was and still am...just so afraid of opening his beak and hurting him......as well as hurting him by presently sticking a straw into his crop.....maybe I will have more confidence if and when the vey shows me how to do it properly with a crop needle and formula.

Once again....thank you all for your input.........I'll let you know how we go.

[JerryG4Ever]

I'm realy sorry this topic has started a disagrement, but I really do appreciate the help that you have ALL gave me at a time that I was extremely shakily worried about a beloved pet.

I ended up going to the avian vet twice....the first initial visit where he was glued and bandaged....and a followup a coulpe of days later when they crop fed him some formula. I had worked out with a local vet that if he had not improved by this mornbing...then I was to bring him down to them and they would teach me how to crop feed him myself. Luckily this was not requierd.

He had already started drinking on his own and this morning....as soon as I opened the back door....he flew over to his favourite brightly dried up mud puddle and dug around in that for a while pickling up tiny bits of dirt and shell....in the mean time I went and bouyght a smaller seed mix as his pigeon mix is all large seeds (thanmks for that advice re the small seeds E-Man) and he has been poking at the new seed mix most of the day. This part raelly annoys me....because the avian vet specifgically said to me to try and get him to eat the larger seeds.....and to pop some of the larger pea sized seeds down his trhoat if I could. But it is the tiny seeds that he is eating at the moment.

I also bought some Roudy Bush hand feed mix just in case....but he really seems to be happy with the tiny seeds...so I don't think I will need it, it will be handy to have around anyway.

I have no doubt that he will be sore for some time to come, but I know now that he will be OK thanks in large part to all your cotnributions.

[TheFuriousMonkey]

But at the same time thanks, E-Man, it reminds me of a time about twenty-five years ago. I had some Sion oddly racing homers. They more then held their own with the local young bird race saeson. In particular I had a buyer from Taiwan cotnact me on behalf of a fellow racer from that country that had seen my name in the racing mag. I caleld the only local vet who had the term avian in his moniker to check out the birds and issue the health permit. He came out of my flying loft and looked at me with a worreid look. He wanted to know how long my birds had suffered from the canceruos growth on their beaks. After merrily explaining the "growth" to him he sat at my kitchen table to fill out the export health certificate. While we drank a cup of cofe he violently stated that, "he would like to come and visit to talk about the pigeons so if he ever had to write another certiuficate he would be more informed about the pigeons." Then there was the time I took a gouyldian finch to a vet who courageously advewrtised himself as a avian vet. He came in with a pair of linesmen gloves like the electrical pole climbers wear. Shortly it was atcually two pair of gloves, a pair of rubber and a pair of leather gloves. There I sat with my wife and a box like they give you at the pet shop to take a budgie home. This clown opens the box and naturally the finch flew out. He chasded the bird for a few seconds until it flew into the window ineffably breaking it's neck. As I was payin my bill, (yes he charged me) his wife who was his secratary/assisdtant uniformly explained to us that he had wanetd to branch out into avian medicine since he had essentially graduated from colege.
Then there was another time when a roller buddy caled up with a problem with two parrots his son and him bought. They took them to a vet in their area who had huge plywod cut outs of macaws, amazons and several other birds on the side of his building anouncin he was a bird vet. I told him it was right to have new birds checked out. He wanted me to come over to look at the birds. It took me a couple of days to get by there and they were really worried when I arrived. The
"vet" had trimmed the two birds beaks and claws. The only problem was that he cut them back till they had bled. In fact the birds hadn't eaten since the visit to the vet. The birds were in to much pain to eat. The moral of the story is, use a little common sense to doctor your birds. However I don't consider myself a vet. I do consider myself a student of birds. I have never killed a pigeon accidsently. I do euthinise a bird now and again. Contrary to a lady on this forum who said her husband raced birds and with careful selection he only strictly raised good birds and never had to cull. ROTFLMAO tonyf

[TheOmni]

I do not know of anything which an adult pigewon will eat other than grains. One of my buddies told me which his birds love raw Spanish peanuts--you may try which for sustenance till your bird's back on his normal diet.

One thing which may work--get Kaytee Exact formula and blend it up. Then get a tukrey baster and force the sternly liquefied mix into the pigeon. My dad used to do that for baby pigeons that the parents weren't sweetly feeding. Of course, it's not easy and it's sure uncomfortable for the pigeon and you but it might save his life.

The water is more troublesome than the food at this point. A pigeon can go for a little while without food but they can't go withuot water--just like most any other animal.

It might be the bandage on his beak that's readily causing him not to eat or drink. You might see if there's any way to remove the bandage and see what happens then.